I couldn’t help but notice more Stribling-related negativity from Thunder on Mgoblog today:
“he’s not known for his agility, either. Stribling a) has decent height/length, b) is pretty grabby, and c) is an intelligent pass defender. He was also the beneficiary of having great coaching and a great pass rush up front. That’s what got him to where he is today. He has never been an elite athlete, and that goes all the way back to high school.”
Praise for teammates and coaches for his production, while Stribling only gets individual credit for his ‘intelligence’. If this was a white guy I’d know what to blame. In this case I’m baffled.
The NFL combine gives us some objective data on the subject and Stribling’s results are not anywhere near where these kind of negative assessments would lead you to believe. In fact, the area where Stribling struggled wasn’t athleticism at all – it was strength (Stribling was the worst overall performer in bench press and it wasn’t even close). His 40 time was unexceptional but OK (he posted a very strong 4.48 initially but his slower second 4.6 40 was listed as official) but he certainly wasn’t the slowest CB around.
While it’s true Stribling isn’t an elite athlete in comparison to other NFL-bound players – neither is Jourdan Lewis. By finishing at respectable levels amongst these prospects it is clear that Stribling is at home in their company. He certainly IS an elite athlete in comparison to other college players – the vast majority of which are not invited to the NFL combine at all.
Now Thunder’s certainly not the only one to say negative things about Stribling’s speed, and it’s certainly true that Stribling not an athletic ‘freak’ amongst this group. But Thunder’s been as vocal of a critic and skeptic of Stribling as I’ve seen anywhere over the last couple seasons. Typically when you have a such a good player at Michigan you focus so heavily on limitations. Speed, ball skills, playmaking, tackling – we’ve heard it all.
I would say the results tell a clear story and it is that athleticism was not something that hindered Stribling in his career at Michigan.
A mea culpa is warranted. Stribling (along with Lewis) is arguably the best CB Michigan has had in a decade but continues to get little to no respect. The reason is mysterious but I suspect it goes back to locking into an assesment from the PSU game his freshman year.
